


January

by take_me_adventuring



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), tom holland - Fandom
Genre: F/M, but thats about it really, might get worse later idk, very family friendly fic lol, very mild swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-05-02 00:54:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14533155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/take_me_adventuring/pseuds/take_me_adventuring
Summary: Part of StarksParker's 4k celebration Writing ChallengeFake Dating PromptBasically, Tom is pressured by Sony to announce that he's in a relationship and a few days later he just happens to meet you...(can you guess where this is going? I sure can't)





	1. December - April

**December**

Tom slumped into the chair beside Zendaya, taking a slow sip of his coffee as she yawned through her greeting.

“Do you have any idea what this is about?” They were in Australia, the first stop on their press tour.

“Not a clue, marketing or public image probably, we’re only a few months out from Spidey 2.”

She hummed, “Hmm, true.”

He took another long swig of his drink as the door was pushed open, one of the PR representatives from Sony striding in with a curt hello.

The meeting started off pretty normally, reminders to keep swearing to a minimum during interviews, with pointed looks thrown at Tom by both the Rep and his co-star, and a loose schedule for the upcoming press tour. As they studied the schedule Tom could see the Rep studying them with a frown on her face, after a moment she sighed, dread creeping up Tom’s spine.

“We’re going to need one of you to announce a relationship...”

That was not what he was expecting.

“...I don’t care if it’s real or not, we just need you to take the heat off this ‘Tomdaya’ crap.” The Sony Rep continued, “It’s messing with people’s expectations for the sequel and we are not pairing Peter and Michelle, we can’t have people thinking we are.”

Tom just blinked in shock and turned to Zendaya who was looking more than slightly terrified.

The Rep just stood staring at them, before sighing again and addressing their silence, “Look, I know it’s not ideal, I honestly don’t think it’s fair to spring it on you like this but…” She hesitated, trying to gather her resolve, “We don’t care which of you it is, you can work that out between you, but by Friday one of you can’t be single, got it?”

Tom swallowed, hard, his mouth dry and sticky. He nodded slowly, eyes glassy and unfocused, mind running a mile a minute. The door slipped shut behind the Rep’s retreating figure and Zendaya whipped around to face him.

“Tom I cannot do this, I just started seeing someone and neither of us want it to be public yet and I really like them please Tom, I can’t.”

He softened instantly, “Of course, I’ll do it, don’t worry about your relationship I can handle this.” He smiled up at her, still not entirely sure what any of this meant but certain that he’d do anything to protect his friend.

It wasn’t until he was sitting in the car on the way back to his hotel that he really started to unpack things. Does he have to find a girlfriend by Friday? That’s only three days away there’s no way he can do that. But Sony isn’t really expecting him to are they? Do they want him to lie? Of course, they want him to lie but do they really want him to lie? Could he even do that? He’s terrible at keeping secrets and he definitely doesn’t want to lie. But if he doesn’t then Z’s relationship might be outed. Or it’ll at least be strained if she has to publicly date someone else. He couldn’t do that to her. Ok, but how the hell is he going to pull this off? He doesn’t have a girlfriend, he sucks at secrets… He sucks at secrets. He grinned, an idea forming in his head.

\---

“So you had a couple of injuries on the set of Homecoming, have you managed to be more careful while filming this latest movie?” Thursday’s interview was about wrapping up, Tom’s stomach churning in anticipation.

He forced a laugh, thankfully sounding genuine and just a little sheepish, “Uhhh, nothing major, but I did actually break my nose for the third time! It wasn’t even part of a stunt or anything I was just mucking about doing flips and fell flat on my face.”

The interviewer winced, “Ouch, that sounds painful.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Tom grinned, as if remembering something funny, “my girlfriend says I’m starting to look like Owen Wilson though!”

“Did you just say your girlfriend?” The interviewer immediately picked up on his ‘slip’, Tom congratulated himself internally as his smile faded, jaw dropped and eyes widened.

“Uh, no no I said my girl… friend? My friend, who is a girl, who is my friend, and not my girlfriend.” He personally thinks he nailed the panicked stuttering vibe, making sure to cross his arms and come across as closed off and secretive.

The interviewer just raised his eyebrows, pressing with his silence. Tom played his part perfectly, sighing and uncrossing his arms, running a hand nervously through his hair as he spoke.

“Ok, yeah, I’m seeing someone, but she’s not in Hollywood and she doesn’t want to be in the spotlight so we’ve been trying to keep things low-key and she’s going to kill me, Jesus Christ.” The interviewer just laughed, wrapping up the questions with a joke about his big mouth.

\---

The interview is on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, YouTube, FaceBook and probably even bloody LinkedIn by the next day. He gets an email from the Sony Rep congratulating him on the convincing performance, a message from Z thanking him to the high heavens, and about a gajillion tweets from fans asking every question imaginable.

Tom just feels guilty.

The churning in his stomach hasn’t gone away, nerves replaced by shame and disgrace as soon as the word ‘girlfriend’ left his lips. He didn’t regret it, he knew he was doing the best for the movie and for Z but god damn it felt horrible to lie to his fans.

A couple of days, and many, many hours scrolling through Twitter later, he came to another realization: it wasn’t enough to just say he was in a relationship, he needed to show it. Every time he was pictured with a girl, whether they were a fan, a friend, a co-worker, or just some random girl sitting near him at a cafe, the fans stalked and interrogated them about their relationship to him. He needed a girlfriend, and he needed one now.

 

**January**

You shuffled down the aisle, squeezing past the people putting bags in the overhead and slumping down into your seat, the middle of the set of three on the right side of the plane. The man at the window seat was already there and, somehow, already fast asleep. You recognized the package shoved into his mesh chair pocket as travel sickness drugs. You knew the drowsiness those particular ones caused and smiled to yourself, glad you’d taken your own the night before and already slept off those effects. Most of the passengers had settled down and the seat to your left remained empty, you hoped that it would stay that way and you’d have a little extra room to spread out over the next 15 hours. You could see the stewardess’ readying to close the doors when a man rushes in, full of apologies, and shuffles down to your row, slipping into the seat next to you.

You recognized him instantly, eyebrows raising but waiting for him to put his things away and get settled before turning to him, “Shouldn’t you be in First Class or something?”

He blinks at you for a second, before cracking the biggest grin, still slightly out of breath from rushing in, “Nah I don’t need all that, I’ll probably be sleeping through it anyway.”

The answer took you a little by surprise, you smiled softly, “That’s a good mindset to have,” you offered your hand for him to shake, “I’m (Y/N).”

“Tom.” He grips your hand, shaking it once firmly.

You let out a breathy laugh, “Well, yeah, Spiderman and all.”

He grinned again, a tinge of pink staining his cheeks and a flash of pride in his brown eyes.

“So what are you doing in Australia?”

\---

The two of you chatted through the takeoff and for a good half hour afterward. He told you all about the press tour and you told him of your plans to explore America for a month before settling down into your new job. It was incredible really, how seamlessly the conversation flowed, how easy it was to make him laugh. Eventually, you settled into silence, you mindlessly scrolling through your phone, him settling in to nap. You felt his head slump against your shoulder, you looked down to see his eyes closed peacefully, chest rising and falling evenly. Your heart fluttered, chest tightening as you tried desperately not to laugh and wake him. You pulled open Snapchat, taking a quick photo of his face smushed against your shoulder and captioning it “Tom Holland is drooling on my shoulder”. You saved it to your phone and sent it to your best friend, followed by one of just you with a filter that made your eyes and mouth huge “by the way I’m sat next to TOM FREAKING HOLLAND send help”. You knew they wouldn’t go through until you landed and had signal again, so you settled in to watch a movie on the tiny screen in front of you.

About an hour and a half later you felt Tom stirring against you, pressing his face further into you as he groggily tried to shut out the light from the cabin. You smiled at him as he rubbed his eyes and apologized, awkwardly patting your shoulder where his head was resting. He flagged down the Stewardess and got a cup of orange juice, turning to you after he’d downed it, seeming a bit more awake.

“What’re you watching?”

You took the earbud closest to him out, “The Departed, with DiCaprio, you know it?”

He grinned, “Are you kidding? I love that movie! _Do you wanna be a cowp or appe-ar to be a cowp?_ " He puts on the _worst_ Boston accent you’d ever heard and you burst out laughing at his goofy trying-to-be-serious face.

“Do you have headphones?” You asked through your grin, gesturing to the splitter you’re using to connect your own to the seat’s console.

His smile faltered a bit, “No, they’re in my luggage.”

You switched earbuds, handing him the right one, he shifted the armrest so he could shuffle closer to you and see better. You spent the next hour imitating the terrible accents and watching the film.

\---

You’d been sitting in silence for the past couple of hours. You were engrossed in your book, Tom was idly scrolling through his phone, having paid for the wireless at some point, and listening to music with your borrowed headphones.

“Oh man,” He broke the silence, whining, “my phone’s about to die.” He pouted, there was still a good nine hours left on the flight.

You wordlessly reached into the carry on at your feet and pulled out a power-bank, handing it over.

“Holy shit you’re so prepared, thanks.” He fumbled around in his own bag, pulling out his charger, at least he’d remembered that.

You laughed softly, “Not really, you’re just ridiculously unprepared.”

He laughed and thanked you again, plugging his phone in and resuming his scrolling. You tried to focus back on your book but the worried look on his face caught your attention. He was chewing his bottom lip, eyebrows furrowed as he read through his feed.

“Everything ok?”

He turned to you, lip caught between his teeth, eyes looking like a puppy who just had his favourite toy taken away. You tried very, very hard not to laugh, something was clearly wrong but he just looked so lost and cute. You got away with an amused smile as he composed himself.

“Uhhh, yeah? No. But I can’t really-” He paused to look around the cabin, everyone within earshot was either asleep or had headphones in. Tom sighed, “Ok I know I only just met you but I feel like I can trust you, can I trust you?”

You nodded, you were a strong believer that everyone was entitled to their privacy, even celebrities.

“Ok, so, it’s kind of… complicated.” He started from the beginning, how Sony wanted to shut down rumours of him and Zendaya dating before Spiderman 2’s release, how to do that one of them needed to look like they were seeing someone else, how Zendaya didn’t want to put pressure on her new relationship, how he wanted to protect his friend, how he’d said he had a girlfriend but they were trying to keep it private, and how it blew up and fans are scrutinizing every person he spends time with, how guilty he feels for lying and how he really needs to find someone to look like his girlfriend but he has no idea how.

You listened intently, mulling it over before answering, “Well I definitely don’t think you’re a terrible person for lying, you have to lie when it comes to spoilers and all that and I guess this is kind of marketing for the film? It does really suck that they put you in this position. Besides you’re protecting your friend and her relationship, it’s sweet really.”

He seemed to visibly relax with every word, shoulders deflating and head lulling back against the seat, “Thank you, I really have no idea if this is ok or not. But either way, it doesn’t matter because how can I make a girlfriend materialize out of thin air?”

“What about another actor? It’d be believable with how you met, the press would eat it up and they’d probably be sympathetic as to why you’re asking them to do it.”

Tom shook his head, “I already said she wasn’t in Hollywood and that’s why she didn’t want it to be all public.”

“Hmmm, makes sense.” You thought for another moment, “You haven’t been seen together right? And that’s why people are asking so many questions?”

He takes a moment to think, “Yeah I guess.”

“How about she lives in another country? You met on a press tour or something and have been giving long distance a go, explains why no one’s seen her, and it’s easy to explain why she’s not at events and stuff with you.”

“Oh my god you’re a genius!!!” He jumped excitedly in his chair, slapping your arm lightly over and over, “Oh that’s a fantastic idea! I’ll definitely do that.” His grin split his face like a chasm and he beamed at you, “Thank you so much!”

You grinned back, the flitter in your chest just a response to the drastic mood change.

\---

The rest of the flight was much of the same, chatting, reading, watching the odd movie, a few naps here and there. Somewhere along the line, you exchanged numbers, Tom promising you that he’ll be your tour guide for LA. You spent the next week exploring the city, visiting all the major tourist traps and wandering through the streets of West Hollywood. Sometimes you were by yourself, sometimes being dragged by Tom between famous landmarks and his favourite cafes. He gave you the biggest hug before you got onto the bus to your next destination, promising to meet up with you in Arizona to see the Grand Canyon.

The next three weeks were spent roaming around the country, sightseeing and relaxing, you met so many new people, had so many new experiences, and texted Tom constantly. You met up in Arizona as planned, watched the sunset over the Canyon and bid your goodbyes the next day, but your phone was buzzing regularly with silly Snapchats and texts, with the occasional FaceTime as the two of you grew closer.

“Hey (Y/N)!” Tom chirped through your phone as you answered the call.

“Hey Tommy, what’s up?”

“I did my first interview today after the whole girlfriend thing and explained the long distance situation and it went so well! So well! You’re a genius!”

You laughed at his excitement, “I’m glad! Hopefully, everyone will lay off you a bit now.”

“Oh not at all, if anything I’m getting more because I’m actually talking about it now but at least I have an excuse now!” You giggled again at his hyperactive mood.

“Hey! You’re in New York this week, right? For the last leg of your trip?”

“Yeah, I’m getting the bus this afternoon, why?”

“We should totally meet you there! I’ve got a couple of days off and I could drag Harrison and Jacob down to celebrate your last days!”

You laughed again, his good mood so infectious you couldn’t help but grin and get excited with him, “That’d be awesome! I can’t wait!”

\---

You had an amazing last night in America, Tom, Harrison, and Jacob had come to meet you just as he’d promised. You’d started at a low-key bar with cheap drinks because heaven knows you’re not going clubbing unless you’re already tipsy, and ended stumbling out of Marquee at 3 am, giggling and wobbling in your heels. Tom had his arm slung around your shoulders, steadying the both of you as he threw his other arm out and sung some silly song at the top of his lungs. You were almost doubled over in laughter, leaning into him more so you didn’t fall and he grinned down at you. No one saw the flashes of photography as you were pulled away by Jacob to dance along to the ridiculously off-key tune that Tom and Harrison were belting, both laughing as you twirled around together.

You crashed into your hotel bed as soon as you got back, saying goodbye to the lads in the hallway and barely managing to pull your shoes off and wipe your face before you passed out, still giggling.

You woke up the next morning to a knocking at your hotel door, groggily inviting whoever it was in, you checked the time on your phone. You saw a room service cart being wheeled in and thanked the concierge before inspecting the tray. It contained coffee, orange juice, water, ibuprofen, a selection of pastries and a note “ _Morning, meet me in my room when you’re ready. Xx_ ”

You smiled, downing the pills with some orange juice and leaving the rest for after your shower. Feeling a bit more human, you made a fresh cup of coffee and grabbed a pastry before leaving your room and heading down the hallway to Tom’s room.

\---

“So what do you want to do?”

You’d been staring at his phone for the past five minutes, a photo of the two of you from last night plastered over every gossip site there is. His arm was around your shoulder, you perfectly tucked against his side, closer than probably necessary, your hand was pressed against his chest and your face buried next to it, obviously trying to conceal your laughter and, thankfully, obscured from the camera’s view. He was looking down at you, absolutely beaming, the pink flush of his cheeks and the delight in his eyes visible even in the slightly grainy paparazzi photo. Everyone had assumed that you were his secret long-distance girlfriend, and you had to be honest, it really did look like you were together.

“No one knows it’s me?” You didn’t see how it was possible, your face isn’t visible in the picture and you definitely don’t have enough of a social media presence to be recognizable from just your figure alone.

“No, I’m pretty sure you’re ok.” He had that same look as he did on the plane, eyebrows pinched, worrying away at his bottom lip.

“Ok, go for it then, why not?”

He just frowned more, “What do you mean?”

“Confirm it was her, or me I guess. I mean it makes sense, I don’t live in the country so that’s covered and now we’ve been seen together. If no one knows who I am then I don’t see why not just pretend it’s me.”

Tom’s frown was gone, his mouth hanging open, eyes scanning yours rapidly, “You’d really do that for me?”

You shrugged, smiling, “Yeah, you need _someone_ to point to right?”

He just grinned, pulling you into a massive hug, “Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!!”

He typed up a quick tweet, confirming that the girl was, in fact, his girlfriend and once again asking everyone to respect her privacy, his grin only widening at the support that immediately came flooding in. You smiled softly at him, mind wandering back to the picture of you, absentmindedly studying his face. Your chest fluttered again, it was a reasonable thing to be nervous about, all these people thinking you were dating, even if they didn’t know who you were.

You made a bit of a show of Tom seeing you off at the airport that afternoon, knowing there’d be cameras waiting for you.

 

**April**

The next few months were relatively quiet, Tom would mention his ‘girlfriend’ occasionally during interviews, always maintaining that your privacy be respected, and no one presses him too much on the subject. Life for you continued as normal back in Australia, you started your new job, spent time with your friends, only your best friend knew about everything that happened between you and Tom and continued to Snapchat, text and FaceTime Tom whenever you could.

It was sometime in April, a few months into your ‘relationship’ when someone managed to track down your Instagram based on the photos from the airport. From that, they found your Twitter and all hell broke loose. The fans were convinced it was you and you didn’t have much grounds to deny it, your Instagram photos were very clearly of the same person from the airport.

You sent Tom a screencap of a few tweets demanding to you acknowledge that you were Tom’s girlfriend, along with the text:

 **(Y/N):** Welp

 **Tommy Hollandaise:** Oh shit, I can deny it if you want?

 **(Y/N):** I’m not sure anyone would believe you tbh

 **Tommy Hollandaise:** That’s true…. This is way more than you signed up for and I’m sorry to even ask this but would you be ok if we just went with it?

 **(Y/N):** Uhhhh

 **(Y/N):** I guess?

 **(Y/N):** I don’t think it would really change much, I’d just be making fun of you over Twitter instead of over text

 **Tommy Hollandaise:** Hahaha you’re such an ass

 **Tommy Hollandaise:** Are you sure?

 **(Y/N):** Yeah, I’m sure

 **Tommy Hollandaise:** Ok, I’ll tweet something about it tonight?

 **(Y/N):** Whatever you want, it’s your fake relationship ;)

**Tommy: <3 <3 <3 <3 **

It’s actually a great way for you to interact as a ‘couple’, you’re constantly tweeting at each other and commenting on the other’s Instagram posts. It’s mostly just teasing each other and poking fun, with the occasional sappy ‘I miss you’ message, and it’s all so ridiculously _natural_ , the only difference between your past interactions and now being the new public platform. You still Snapchat and text and FaceTime, only now when Tom does or says something stupid or pulls a dumb face on Snapchat you post it to Twitter, grinning at his fake annoyed replies. The whole things just warmed your heart and it’s so, so easy to forget that it’s all pretend.


	2. June - August

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been months since I posted part 1 (oops) but I hope this makes up for it! There's one more chapter and I'm hoping to get that one done much faster, thanks for your patience and nice comments xx

**June**

Tom was jittery as he waited in the departure lounge, leg bouncing rapidly and bottom lip caught between his teeth as he passes the time by trawling through Twitter. He’d been texting you until about half an hour ago when you’d gone off to bed. His face has been periodically shifting between his current, impatient grumbling, and a _huge_ grin. His stomach has been flipping and fluttering and tying itself in knots since he got to the airport. His head would occasionally fill with fog, swimming with thoughts and emotions until he blinked it away. He wasn’t really paying attention to his phone, but he’d already checked through his carry-on about twenty times, making sure he had his water bottle, headphones and power bank. He was restless. He was _excited._

Excited because he was just a plane ride away from being face to face with you again.

It’d been months since he’d seen you in person and honestly, he’s not sure how it’ll go, you haven’t actually been in the same room together since you started officially ‘dating’. Dating? Not really but publically dating? Fake dating? Dating but secretly not actually dating but more secretly really enjoying it and kind of maybe wishing it was real? It was complicated, that’s for sure.

_“Now boarding flight number THL 4062 to Melbourne at Gate 14.”_

Tom double checked his ticket before standing, stretching out his legs in preparation for the intense sitting he’s about to do, and padded over to the boarding station with his things. A few hours later he was seated and peacefully dozing as he quietly missed having your shoulder as a pillow.

\---

All too suddenly he’s collecting his luggage and making his way towards the meeting point. His stomach back at its usual nonsense, the agitation so intense it made it a little difficult to walk, at this point Tom’s not entirely sure if it’s from excitement or nerves. And then he sees you and stops walking altogether, his feet glued to the tiled floor as he watched you slowly scanning the room for him. He swallowed, forgetting to breathe as the fluttering of his stomach tidal waved into his chest so forcefully he’s surprised he wasn’t physically pushed back by the sensation.

Your eyes locked and his head swam, heart beating rapidly as he saw you break out into a grin at the sight of him. He stood rooted in place as you jogged up to him, only remembering how to breathe when you slung your arms around his neck, knocking him back slightly. He laughed airily, head reeling from the lack of oxygen and the scent of your perfume flooding his senses.

“I missed you, Tommy.” He barely heard the words you mumbled into his shoulder, pulling you closer and resting his cheek against the top of your head.

“I’ve missed you too (Y/N).”

\---

The two of you spent the next week hanging out and sightseeing, this time being your turn to pull him around to your favourite places but Tom doesn’t mind one bit. In fact, Tom _loves_ the look on your face when you’re introducing him to a sight or a place or a food, all wide eyes and excitement, breath held in anticipation of his reaction. He always makes sure to severely overplay his response to whatever you’re showing him because the face you make when he’s enjoyed it is even better. Tom finds himself slotting a little too easily into the role of your boyfriend while you’re in public, instinctively throwing an arm over your shoulders or around your waist, pulling you closer. There have got to be hundreds of photos of him tucking hair back behind your ear or staring down at you starry-eyed and grinning.  

You’re both aware of the public nature of your ‘relationship’ and that there will be cameras eagerly awaiting an appearance, but that doesn’t mean that it’s all entirely staged. Not for Tom anyway, definitely not for Tom. Those small acts of affection seemed to just come naturally to him, like a second nature, despite the fact that you’d only spent a total of two weeks together. He’d find himself subtly leaning into your touch, absentmindedly tracing patterns on your skin, his hands always seeking out to touch you, resting on the small of your back, your shoulder, your thigh, anywhere. It scared him a little, how magnetic you seemed to be, how quickly he’d fallen into these habits and how much comfort he found in them.

 

**July**

It was three weeks until the premiere of Spider-Man: Far From Home and Tom had to be back in LA for interviews and promotions. It was also the most crucial time for audience expectations and Sony had asked you and Tom to be even more public with your ‘relationship’, so you flew out to LA with him, he has to take his girlfriend to the premiere of his movie after all. After yet another fifteen hour flight the two of you are running around LA again, determined to be photographed at least once a day by paparazzi. It was actually pretty fun finding new things to do every day, you went to a lot of restaurants, art galleries and museums, sometimes you’d just wander the streets trying different ice creams and finding the coolest street art.

In between this, there were the interviews, you tagged along with Tom to every single one, often prompting the interviewer to ask about you or drag you in front of the camera and ask you questions. It was during one of these moments when things took a turn.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of photos of the two of you over the past couple of weeks, it must be so nice to be in the same country finally.” You were propped up against Tom’s lap, his arms wrapped protectively around your middle. You both grinned wide.

“Yeah, it’s great!” Tom’s voice came from behind you, his breath ghosting over your neck as he talked, “It’s been awesome being able to show her around LA some more and I loved visiting Australia.” You smiled fondly in agreement, zoning out a little.

“You seem very affectionate, we see a lot of photos of you cuddling and holding hands,” Tom squeezes you slightly and you lean back into him, “but we haven’t seen anything of you kissing. Is that something you generally avoid?”

That got your attention, you fought the shell-shocked ‘deer in the headlights’ look from overcoming your features, instead forcing an awkward laugh, Tom mimicking your reaction, stuttering slightly with his response.

“Uhh, yeah, I mean, we- uhh, we know there are cameras around and, you know, Spider-Man’s more of a kids movie so I guess we try and keep that stuff to a minimum.” You chance a look back at him, his face flushed and eyes wide. Your face is inches from his, you turn back quickly.

\---

The interview comes back to haunt you barely a day later. You were on stage at a huge convention, somehow you ended up being a part of the panel that Tom was on, standing slightly awkwardly next to him and answering the occasional question that came your way. You’d been coming off of a question about what it was like being so close to Tom after all the long distance.

“...so it’s less convenient not being able to just end the call when he’s being annoying,” You laugh along with the auditorium, “but it’s really, really great having him here.” You looked over at him grinning to find him staring at you with a smile. He slung his arm over your shoulder and pulled you in for a side hug, holding you close to him, eyes still locked on one another.

“You guys should kiss!” A distant shout comes from the audience.

You both turn to the audience and laugh awkwardly, his hold on your shoulders loosens slightly but you stay leaned into him. “I don’t think that’s appropriate.” Tom answers through a chuckle.

“Kiss!”

“Yeah kiss her, come on!”

“Kiss her!”

Soon there was a steady chant of “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” Tom threw a helpless look at the moderator who just kind of shrugged, before turning to you, an apologetic smile on his face. You raised your eyebrows in a silent question ‘do you mind?’, within moments Tom’s lips were against yours, your heart stopped. His lips pulled away almost instantly but the moment was there, suspended in silence against the cheering crowd. Your head spun, it just took you by surprise that’s all, you did your best to look shy instead of shocked.

You tried to be extra affectionate over the next few days, trying to ease any suspicion on your relationship after being called out for your lack of PDA. You were extra cuddly and sappy with the press and occasionally share a small kiss when you spot a photographer lurking nearby. It takes your breath away every time, but that’s just because you’re not used to the affection, surely.

\---

Eventually, the night of the premiere rolled around and to say you were freaking out would be an understatement. You’d never done anything remotely like this before and, while you were getting used to the cameras, the idea of being interviewed by the reporters lining the carpet was terrifying. But at the same time is was utterly exhilarating, you were about to fulfil every child’s dream of fame and celebrity; a real red carpet. Tom was well aware of this, after all, it’s exactly how he felt before his first few premieres, so he was being extra gentle and caring, complimenting you at every opportunity and just generally being reassuring. You also had to make sure to be as sickeningly adorable as possible. Tom had at least one hand rested against your skin at all times, sometimes rested on your lower back, sometimes your shoulder, usually wrapped around your waist with you pressed to his side. He was constantly pressing soft kisses to your forehead or cheek, hugging you from behind and pressing a kiss into your neck. You always smiled and leant back into him.

You did you fair share of work as well, resting your hand against his chest or threading your fingers through his and leaning your head against his shoulder. There was a moment when you turned him to face you and ran your fingers through his hair to fix it back into place, pressing a kiss to his cheek when you were done, you honestly thought you’d been blinded by all the flashing cameras. This is undoubtedly the most affectionate the two of you have been for such an extended period of time and your stomach is in knots the entire time, your heart thudding in your chest so hard you’re sure the microphones will pick up on it. The butterflies in your chest are so intense you could swear you’d float away. You’re sure it’s just nerves from the event, but you can’t help but notice that the warmth from Tom’s hands burns through your dress and his soft kisses leave goosebumps in their wake.

It was hard to miss the way Tom was looking at you, lingering touches and warm glances. His eyes sparkled as he watched you interact with the fans, he looked so in love it made your breath hitch. You knew he was a good actor but seeing it up close like that, it was incredible how flawless his emotion seemed. You fell against his shoulder in the car on the way home, he pressed a loving kiss to the top of your head and there was so much warmth bubbling in your stomach that you forgot there weren’t any cameras around to see.

 

**August**

You make the trip home alone a few days later, promising to call Tom as soon as you get home. There had been multiple screaming babies on the fight and you didn’t get a minute of sleep so as soon as you step through your apartment door you go straight to your bed and collapse, passing right out in your clothes with your luggage strewn across the floor.

You wake up to an email from the Sony rep, forwarded to you by Tom. It was thanking you both for the amazing work you’d done and officially excusing you from any further activity. They’d given you the freedom to publically end things how you see fit. Your heart sinks as you read over the message, you knew this wasn’t a permanent arrangement, that once the film was out it wouldn’t be necessary anymore,  but you’d forgotten just what that meant. Thankfully, this one isn’t your call and you can wait for Tom to bring it up. Three days later Zendaya announces that she’s been seeing a female co-star for the past eight months and you officially have no reason to keep pretending. You talk to Tom every day, as usual, neither of you brought it up. Dread becomes a part of your daily routine.

At one point you see a picture of you two from the premiere on Instagram, heart emojis surrounding your heads, captioned _“The only reason I believe in true love”_. Out of habit, you send it to Tom, as you usually do when you see cute edits like that, and almost immediately his face is plastered on your phone as he calls you.

You answer with a cheery greeting before you see the tears shining in his eyes. He’s lying in bed, warm light highlighting his curls and the softness of his bare skin, light reflecting off the tears that run down his cheeks.

“Oh shit, Tom are you ok?”

“I just…” He let out a deep, strained sigh, burying his face into his pillow slightly, “I feel so guilty.”

“What do you mean?”

“I guess I got so caught up in everything and it’s just hit me that I’ve been lying to _everyone_. And I know, I know that’s what I agreed to do but now I-” He cut himself off with a sob, resting his free arm over his eyes as he steadied his breathing, “I didn’t realise how invested the fans would get, and now we have to break up or whatever and it’s going to…” He took a shaky breath, his voice was strained, hands shaking slightly.

“Tom?” You felt your eyes prickling at the sight of his so distraught.

“I just don’t want to upset anyone.”

You take a deep breath, “Ok, why don’t we just lay low for a while? We don’t have to do anything just yet, it’s ok. We can start being a bit less public and then when things have simmered down a bit before we do anything. Does that sound good?”

There’s a pause as he thinks it over, breathing unsteadily as he starts to calm down, “Yeah..”

“It’ll be ok Tom, I promise.”

“Ok.”

“Say it back to me so I know you know.” You lighten your tone, hoping to cheer him up a little.

He laughs lightly, “It’ll be ok.”

You grin back when you see him smiling softly.

He’s quiet for a moment, before softly speaking again, “Thank you (y/n), I love you.”

It wasn’t an uncommon thing for you to say to each other, but this time felt different, heavier somehow. You just smile softly back at him through the phone,

“I love you too Tom.”


End file.
